The Wrong Gentleman(44)

“Are we going into this restaurant or what?”

“Absolutely not.” I stormed past him and toward the path that ran in front of the restaurant and down through the hills.

I hadn’t gone more than five steps when he caught my wrist and pulled me to a halt. “Skylar. Come on. I don’t want to fight with you. I want to enjoy the day. Let’s just go inside and have a good time.”

“Will you take the money for the cab?” I asked.

“I can’t do that. It’s just not . . . how I’m built. And I’ve never had a day out with a woman before. Indulge me.”

He was sneaky. How could I say no to that kind of response?

“Let’s just go inside,” he said.

My heart sank. I wanted it to be just the two of us, even if we were only eating sandwiches. “You want to eat in the restaurant? It’s pretty fancy. I’m not sure they’ll have a table for us.”

“You didn’t bring us here to eat in the restaurant?”

I shook my head. “Are you disappointed?”

“Not at all. I just assumed—”

“That I’d be dragging you around Louis Vuitton?”

“Well, you did say that you were taking me to your favorite place.”

“Think about it, Landon, have you ever seen me wearing designer anything?” I rolled my eyes. “And if we ever stop bickering, we might actually get there.”

He chuckled. “But you’re not going to tell me?”

“If you’re hoping for a big surprise then you need to readjust your expectations. It’s my favorite place, but you might hate it.”

“Lead the way,” he said, gesturing me forward, “and we’ll find out.”

The restaurant was full and the bustle and chatter followed us down the hill as we walked in single file. There was only a slight breeze in the air and although the sun was high in the sky, it was a dry heat and perfect for walking. I always preferred the Med over the Caribbean season because of the lack of humidity.

We walked in silence down the track, though we didn’t meet anyone going the opposite direction. Often people from the restaurant walked a hundred yards or so to take pictures, but today we had the place to ourselves.

The trail turned sharply right and continued.

“You okay?” I called over my shoulder.

“Worried I won’t be able to keep up?”

“Maybe? I don’t know. You’ve been out of the army seven years. And you’re older now,” I said on a giggle.

Landon growled from behind me, and the next thing I knew, he’d tossed me over his shoulder, and he was jogging down the trail.

I squirmed. “Landon, put me down. I was kidding.”

He ignored me until I screeched. “Stop, stop, stop! This is one of the places I wanted to show you!”

He stopped, set me down, and held me up as I stumbled. “You can’t just do that,” I said, smoothing down my pants.

“I think I just proved I can,” he replied and winked at me.

I pushed his sunglasses to the top of his head. “Look.” I gazed out to the sea. “Isn’t that the most beautiful view?”

Sometimes it was hard to imagine that anywhere in the South of France could be completely unspoiled, but from this particular spot, it was more difficult to imagine anyone had ever been here at all. “I love how that tree grows out from the mountainside as if it’s trying to walk down to the ocean,” I said, pointing to the mountain pine that I always took a picture of every time I was here. “I have to get a picture.”

I snapped a photograph on my phone and turned to continue our journey.

“Let’s take another one,” Landon said. “Us and the view.”

I bit back a smile.

Holding up the phone, he snapped a couple of shots and then nodded and slid his phone back into his pocket. “Now where?”

“We admire the view and keep walking.”

Finally, we got to the bottom of the hill. We were the only ones at the small, secluded cove, just as I’d hoped. I’d never seen anyone else here, but it wasn’t like I could organize the solitude.

“Wow, how did you find this place?” Landon surveyed the high rocks on three sides of us and the view of the water in front of us. “Is it a private beach?”

I shook my head. “I just stumbled across it one day, and I like to try to come back every year. There aren’t many places this pretty that you can have to yourself around here.” I pulled the backpack from his shoulder and set it down on the pebbly beach.

“It certainly is pretty.”

“No fancy restaurant but the view makes up for it, I hope.” I pulled out the picnic blanket that I’d brought along with the food I’d picked up from the deli, the drinks, silverware, and paper towels.

“I brought towels so we can swim. You brought your trunks, right?”

“I have them on. You’ve gone to some effort here, Skylar.”

There was nothing that went unnoticed when Landon was around. “It’s beautiful, right?”

“You come here with August?”

I sighed as I tucked the bottle of water I’d brought under the blanket. “Nope. I like to come alone. It’s peaceful.” It was my corner of the Med where I came to get away from the toil of the season, the demands of guests, and the pressure of running away from my past. Here I got to take a time out from it all and just relax. “I thought you’d like it.”